


[S] Game Over: The Epilogues

by spaceslade



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Game Over Timeline, Ghosts, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Polyamory, [S] Game Over
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-07-23 14:06:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20009536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spaceslade/pseuds/spaceslade
Summary: A piece exploring what happened to the Game Over kids in the afterlife and what conversations took place.





	1. Ok cool thanks for being totally not vague and super clear I really appreciate it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jade heard the sound of fabric shifting behind her. She dared a glance back at Dave. He was lying on the ground now, staring straight up. Or at least she thought he was staring straight up. You could never tell with him.
> 
> "Hey," said Dave after a pause.
> 
> "Hey," Jade replied. Dave rolled over onto his stomach to face her. It occurred to Jade at this moment that with her death came blank eyes. Dave could no longer tell where she was looking either. Good. At least now they can both play that game.

There's a block in the way. She isn't sure when it was put there. Maybe the day she was born, maybe the day she first messaged John, maybe the day she met Dave. Jade is used to removing obstacles. She's always been the unstoppable force and the immovable object. It never mattered what the task at hand involved, she could do it. A goddess had told her to move the planets and rearrange the stars. Jade had said yes without missing a beat.

So it made sense that she found this substance at her core particularly disturbing. Her space powers couldn't shrink it. Try as she might, Jade couldn't teleport it into the sun. It sat in her stomach like a bad meal, slowly climbing its way back up her esophagus and into her throat. A weight that made her mute. Dave sat next to her. She wanted to say something. There's a block in the way.

They would have to talk sooner or later. Eternity is a bit too long to play this game. Jade wondered if ghosts could cry. Well, she knew they could. But it sure didn't feel like it.

Dave had made eye contact (ok, not eye contact. More like.... shade contact) for a moment when it became apparent what had happened to them. He had woken up first for some reason, even though it was Jade who had been dead longer. Typical. Leave it to Jade to nap for too long.

Now they were just... sitting there. Back to back. Silent. Of course there were words Jade wanted to say. Mostly "I'm sorry." Sorry for being weird and evil. Dave's death had been heroic. Her's was just. Paradox space had no way of communicating this to them but Jade knew. Nothing she had ever done could be considered heroic. It made her sick to feel the tiny pang of joy that came with the knowledge that Dave died fighting for her.

Jade heard the sound of fabric shifting behind her. She dared a glance back at Dave. He was lying on the ground now, staring straight up. Or at least she thought he was staring straight up. You could never tell with him.

"Hey," said Dave after a pause.

"Hey," Jade replied. Dave rolled over onto his stomach to face her. It occurred to Jade at this moment that with her death came blank eyes. Dave could no longer tell where she was looking either. Good. At least now they can both play that game.

"We died."

"It seems that we did."

"That's fucked up."

Jade shrugged. "I mean it isn't like we haven't died before."

"Yeah but this is different." Dave drummed his fingers on the ground. "This is the first one that's permanent. When I died back on LoFoF I knew it was coming. I knew you would revive me. I didn't even really care about it. Like, yeah ok it sucked and it wasn't an experience I was particularly excited to relive or not relive I guess more like re-die but that's not the point. The point is I don't think this is a doomed timeline. There's no better versions of ourselves running around making slightly less moronic decisions. And nobody's coming to corpse smooch us or life-power revive us or put us on some magical rock. We're DEAD this time. For good. Game over."

Jade turned back around. The effects of being grimbark must be lingering in her because the act of turning her back on Dave felt fucking amazing.

"Hey whoa what's wrong." Dave scooched forward and sat up next to her. "Why are you being so weird? Aside from the dead shit but this seems like a separate weirdness."

"I'm not being weird, Dave. I think I'm just... mourning."

"Mourning... yourself?"

"No. We didn't just die, Dave. We lost. You said it yourself, game over. Suburb beat us. I'm mourning our victory. I'm mourning our freedom."

"Fuck."

The silence overtook them again. Jade felt a shift in the block. It wasn't a weight anymore, now it was a tea kettle threatening to boil over. She bit her lip. Keeping quiet wasn't something she usually struggled with. Not the way Dave did. Keep quiet, be helpful, win the game, win your friends. Prove you're useful. Prove you're deserving. She could do it. Jade had been so close. But... It was different now.

A familiar sensation overtook her. One Jade had buried a long time ago. Suddenly, she wasn't Jade anymore. She was Jadesprite again. Weeping and sniffing and wailing when all her comforts were ripped away. Of course, only inside. It disgusted her the same way it had when she saw herself cry before. She was strong and capable and fucking USEFUL. But usefulness only really exists when there's an end-goal in sight. If she couldn't be useful anymore...

That was the thought that tore open the hole in her willpower. A tear rolled down her cheek. Ghosts can cry. Dave opened his mouth to say something but for once in his god damn life nothing came out. Another pang of guilty pleasure hit Jade.

"I think I'm going to go," she said. Her voice threatened to crack but she held it steady.

Dave's head shot up. "Whoa what? What the fuck are you talking about?"

"When my dead dreamself became Jadesprite she kept babbling on about her friends. Friends that weren't John or Rose or you. It's all a bit fuzzy now, but I think that was the last time I was really happy. I figure-"

"Are you fucking serious? I don't see you for three fucking years and the first time I do after that you're weird and evil and then you’re dead and then you're leaving?"

A smile broke through Jade's composure. A self-indulgent, tactless grin. He didn't want her to leave. Dave wanted her around. She turned away before he could see.

"What else am I going to do, Dave? Sit next to you on this slab for eternity?"

"Could you just fucking look at me?" Dave's voice broke.

"Wow, you really have perfected this whole irony thing haven't you?" Her tone began to waver. _Keep it together, Jade._

"What the fuck does that mean?"

_It means you have some nerve, Strider. It means fuck you for thinking you have the right to ask me to do anything. Fuck you for demanding something you never gave me._

"Nothing."

"Jade what the actual hell is wrong with you?"

Jade gripped the edge of the slab they were seated on. Her fingernails scraped against the stone.

"Was he so awful that you can't even talk to me now?" Dave spat.

"What?"

"You said he broke your heart."

"I thought I told you that it was none of your business."

"And I thought I told you that it was."

Jade stood up. Half of her wanted to fly off and let reality plunk her into the nearest dreambubble. The other half couldn't bear the thought.

Dave sighed. "Can I ask you something?"

"You're going to regardless of my answer."

"Did you love him?"

That was it. That was the last straw. The painful grip on Jade's throat released. The knot in her stomach came undone.

"Of course I did you fucking prick! I loved Davesprite and John and Rose and YOU. Don't you fucking get that? All I ever wanted was for us to all be together." Hot tears ran down her cheeks. "Is it so awful that I'm a little upset about that? Am I not allowed to take one fucking second to be sad without you babbling nonsense into my ear?"

"Ok first of all it's been three years since you last had me babbling nonsense in your ear."

"Did you forget what we were talking about just now?"

"Ah. Right. Bird-dave. Is my nonsense at least less annoying than his?"

"Oh my god. Shut up. Shut the fuck up. Do you EVER stop talking?"

Dave stood up too, crossing his arms.

"Forgive me for fucking processing all this I guess. Kinda fucked up to see one of your best friends after years apart and the first thing out of her mouth is 'good to see you by the way I dated your clone and also I'm evil now.'"

"Obviously it's only weird for you and not at all weird for me. Got it."

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to." There was venom in Jade's voice now. "And you know what the best part is? You asking me if I loved _him_. Because _he_ broke my heart. Because you can't fucking fathom having any kind of agency in other people's problems."

"Ok that's really fucking unfair! We never dated, Jade! Nothing ever happened between us! You can't blame me for fucking up a relationship that we never even had. I'm not the one... the one who... oh."

Dave looked at his feet. Jade glared through the gap between his sunglasses and his face.

"Did you... do you love me?" He asked after a moment.

"I just said that I did literally a minute ago."

"Ok but you said you loved John too and like we both know that's different. So I guess I'm asking if you love me in a way that involves us doing romantic shit and not in the same way you love your brother."

He looked so small in that moment. Dave wasn't chosen or special or unique. Jade was the one with Green-Sun-God-Powers and Jade was a damn good Witch of Space and Jade was the one who ever did anything important. And yet before her stood the boy who stole her heart and was only just now admitting he knew that he had it.

"I feel like I don't need to answer that."

"Ok cool thanks for being totally not vague and super clear I really appreciate it."

"You're one to talk. What if I asked you if you love me?"

Dave's head snapped up. "You didn't ask me that though so I'm not going to give you a hypothetical response because it's not important."

"It's not?"

"We're working through your weird bird-dave issues why would it matter how I feel?"

"AHHHHHH!" Jade threw her hands up in frustration. "Do you even HEAR yourself? 'We're talking about Davesprite but do you love me like me-me and not bird-me but actually we're only still talking about Davesprite this has nothing to do with me.'"

"I-"

"You are the most insufferable living creature I've ever met and you bet your ass I mean more insufferable than the trolls."

"But not like... all the trolls, right? Some of them _really_ sucked ass."

" _You_ suck ass."

"Man you don't know how hard I'm resisting the urge to make an obscene joke right now."

"If you do I'm going to kill you again."

Dave didn't respond. Instead, he approached Jade and put a hand on her shoulder.

"What are you-"

Before she could finish her sentence, the scenery around them changed. A new dreambubble. One of Dave's memories. They were in his room now. He flopped down on his bed and patted the sheets next to him.

"Sorry but I couldn't stand being on that stupid rock for another second."

Jade nodded and sat down on the bed next to Dave, still facing away from him.

"Nope," said Dave as he poked Jade in the side. "You're going to lie down next to me and we're going to have a feelings jam and figure this out."

Jade snorted but gave in. "Since when are you Mr. Feelings?" she asked as she laid down.

"Idk man we're dead now. I guess in a sense I'm kind of... relieved? Not to be dead but just to be done with the game and running for our lives. For the first time I feel like I can breathe."

"Yeah... I know what you mean."

The anger Jade felt started to fizzle slightly.

"I'm pretty fucking sick of feeling bad," she said.

Dave chuckled. "Why couldn't creating a new universe involve like solving a damn puzzle or something and not fighting stupid god-dogs and the incredible hulk on crack?"

Jade giggled too. "To be fair, I don't think most sessions have quite as much bullshit as ours. From what I've heard the trolls’ session was a breeze aside from Karkat’s big fuck up."

"Karkat's big fuck up?"

"Didn't he tell you? He rushed Kanaya's frog-breeding and gave our universe cancer."

"Oh shit. Why would he rush frog-breeding? That was like the only fun part of this whole thing. Runnin' around catchin' frogs and making weird slime cocktails with them was awesome until Jack showed up and you indirectly shot me like forty times."

Jade laughed again. Then she laughed harder. Tears pricked her eyes again but not the kind she tried to hide. After a second she was practically howling. She could hear Dave joining in until they were both gasping for air.

"I can't believe," Jade said between breaths. "I fucking shot you. Oh my god, Dave, that is so fucked up."

"Shooting me I can put behind us. But you tried to hurt the fucking MAYOR and Jade I just don't know if I can forgive you for that one."

The funny thing about when emotions are running high is the switch that can be flipped. The line between joy and despair blurred and Jade's laughs turned back into sobs. She didn't even bother trying to hold them back this time.

"Oh shit Jade that was a joke I know you were like brainwashed or whatever I didn't mean... Fuck I didn't mean to make you cry I-."

Dave rolled onto his side to look at Jade. Her chest heaved and she covered her eyes with her hands.

"Everything I do ends up broken," she forced out.

"That's not true and you know it. If it wasn't for you I don't think we'd even be here right now."

"Thanks Dave. Reminding me that I'm the reason we're dead really shines a new light onto the situation."

"No that's not what I mean. Rose said the scratch would have reset our universe including us and I don't think you get to even be ghosts after something like that. We just would have... stopped existing. But you prevented that."

"Maybe that would have been better. New Jade was probably way less of a fuck-up than I am."

"I don't know about you but I'm pretty psyched I get to keep existing. So... thank you. For that."

Jade sniffed. She rolled over to face Dave.

"Don't mention it."

They remained that way for a moment, just looking at each other. Silence fell over them but not in the heavy way like before. Dave reached over a placed a tentative hand on Jade's back. When she didn't react, he pulled her into a hug. He felt her shake slightly as a few more tears escaped her.

"I never meant to hurt you," he said.

"I know," Jade replied, voice muffled by Dave's chest.

"Are you ever going to give me a real answer?"

Jade sighed. "I would but the issue is I don't think I know the answer." She broke out of the hug and propped herself up on her elbows. "I can tell you that there was a point in my life when the answer was definitely yes, even if I wouldn't admit it to myself. But now I'm not sure anymore. A lot can change in three years..."

"We don't know each other anymore, do we?"

"No. We don't."

"Well," said a voice from behind them. "I believe we have a pretty long time to get caught up."

Rose stood in the doorway to Dave's room, Kanaya in tow. Both of their eyes were the same ghostly white as Dave and Jade's. Before either of them could answer, another voice cut through the room.

"THIS IS SUCH FUCKING BULLSHIT. I JUMPED THROUGH SO MANY GOD DAMN HOOPS AND SURVIVED SO MANY FUCKSTICKINGLY INSANE SHENANIGANS AND THE STUPID JUGGALO TOOK ME OUT. CAN'T BELIEVE I EVER LIKED THAT FUCKASS."


	2. YET ANOTHER RIDICULOUSLY DANGEROUS RESCUE MISSION

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake and Jane wake up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a bit shorter than the last but I have another update planned soon :)

When Jane opened her eyes she had no idea where she was. All she knew was she was lying on something cold and flat, with a warm body in front of her A thick fog enveloped her mind. She expected her head to pound and put a hand up to her forehead. But she felt no pain. As her fingertips touched her face the sensation of missing something overtook her. Her tiaratop! It was gone. Her tiaratop...

Oh.

Oh no.

Jane snapped upright, a small sob caught in her throat. Her vision spun as the memories of the past few hours flooded her. Condesce, Jake's grandma, trolls, Jake.

Jake. Jane glanced over her shoulder. He was sitting up too now, looking back at her. She had looked over just in time to see his eyes one more time before they faded to white. The expression on his face told Jane he had seen hers do the same.

"I..." Jane searched desperately for something to say. Anything to fix this. But there was nothing. There was no Trickster pop to blame this time. As brainwashed as she had been the things she said weren't something she could just take back. Jane had threatened to enslave him. She had told Jake she detested him.

"I'm sorry." Jake was staring down at his hands.

Jane nearly choked on her surprised.

"What?"

"I really bungled this whole situation, didn't I? I wasn't really using my head when I did that, I just thought I could save you."

"Jake-"

"And now here we are, dead as doornails. Bit the dust."

"Jake, wait-"

"I just saw what that troll girl was about to do and the ol' instinct-"

"JAKE."

"Hm?"

"Are you currently apologizing for attempting to save my life?"

"I... I suppose I am. Although it sounds it a bit silly when you put it like that."

"You're telling me."

Jane felt a bit of the weight on her chest let up. As airheaded as Jake may be sometimes he did have a way of diffusing the tension.

"I feel as though I should be the one apologizing to you."

"Janey, none of that was your fault."

"Yes it was," she said quickly. "Yes, it was, Jake. I could have fought it. Right at the beginning, I could have fought harder. Ripped that stupid computer off my head. But I liked how it felt. I felt so... powerful. And then it was too late."

Jake drummed his fingers on the stone. "Well, don't you suppose I'd be one to understand that?"

"What do you mean?"

"When the troll lady 'healed' me for the first time in my life I felt... whole. I'm not sure how easy it would have been to let go of that if I had to. My situation just didn't pose the same sort of consequence that yours did."

"That doesn't make it ok. I-I lost control, Jake." Were Jane's eyes watering up? "I hurt you."

"Well I reckon I've hurt you pretty badly recently, haven't I?"

Jane squeezed her eyes shut to keep the tears from spilling over. Jake had hurt her bad. She knew he hadn't meant to but the birthday conversation played over again in her head. God, he could be such a dummy. Then again, so could she. Jane knew that she could have just told Jake the way she felt from the start. They could have sat down and talked it out. Jake wouldn't have let their friendship die over this. Jane wished she could go back in time and tell herself that.

"I think I finally get it," said Jane after a moment.

"What?"

Jane sat up straighter and turned to fully face Jake. She met his eyes for a moment before looking down. Jake's eyes were locked onto the top of her head as Jane stared into her lap.

"You really do care about me," she said. "You died because you care about me."

"Heavens to Betsy, of course I care about you, Jane! Did I actually have to risk my life for you to know that?"

"Actually, yes." She let out a long sigh. "Dieing trying to save me... It's a bit hard to put into words but I believe it highlighted my subconscious beliefs on the matter."

Jake rested his cheek on his hand. "What do you mean by that?"

"I think deep down, we all have the same problem. We all want to tell each other the same thing, but we're speaking in different tongues."

"I- I believe I'm having a bit of trouble understanding your epiphany here."

"I didn't realize it until now. None of us ever really learned how to love, in a sense. Well, we all thought we did. But we learned in ways that were spectacularly different from each other. And so now we're all just slinging affection at each other hoping that something sticks. But no one else can ever see it. It just slides right past us. And we're left thinking that nobody cares about us."

"Oh. So what you're saying is that all of our efforts to show sentiment came off as rather lackluster."

"Exactly." Jane looked back up at Jake. "You were so overwhelmed by trying to keep both Dirk and I happy that you ended up hiding from us. Looking back, it makes sense. I was just too angry with you to see it. Dirk only suffocated you because he was worried he was going to let you down. Roxy..." Jane let out a little gasp. "Oh Gosh, I've been absolutely awful to Roxy."

"We've all treated each other a bit rough since this started."

Jane let out a small chuckle. "Of course all it takes for us to come to this conclusion is our own deaths."

As the anger and hurt between the two began to fizzle, so did reality. The world warped around them until they were sitting on the floor of a strange room.

"Grandma?"

"Jake!"

The teen version of Jake's grandmother had been in the process of suffocating Karkat in a bear hug (dog hug?) when Jake and Jane had popped into their dreambubble. She released the protesting troll and tackled her alternate universe grandfather instead.

"By golly, you aren't evil any more!"

Jade laughed. "No, it seems the Condy's influence doesn't last in death. Thank god for that." She turned her attention to Jane. "Hello! You're John and I's mother, right? Nice to, uh, meet you again."

"I guess that's technically true. I say we take our first encounter and just... How about we start over?"

"I think that's probably the best idea. It's good to-"

"Where are my parents?"

The room went silent. They all turned towards Dave who had been sitting on his bed, watching the rest of the kids talk.

"There's four of you, right? My bro and Rose's mom, shouldn't they be with you?"

Jake whipped around to look at Jane. "Where the dickens ARE Roxy and Dirk?"

Rose cleared her throat. "I can answer that. My mo- um, Roxy, is ok. She and John both survived. Dirk... I was in and out of consciousness but from what I can put together, he didn't make it."

"So then where's his ghost?" asked Dave. "Seems weird that paradox space organized this little reunion for us just to leave him out."

"I... John said he was overtaken by the glitches. I'm not sure if he's actually dead, per se."

"Shit." Dave pressed his mouth into a flat line to keep any emotion from showing on his face. It wasn't that he was particularly looking forward to this sure to be awkward encounter, but the thought of his alternate universe brother stranded and glitched out for eternity made his stomach turn.

"SO," said Karkat after another moment of uncomfortable silence. "WHAT I'M DEDUCING FROM THIS SITUATION IS THAT, EVEN NOW THAT WE'RE FUCKING DEAD, WE'RE ABOUT TO EMBARK ON YET ANOTHER RIDICULOUSLY DANGEROUS RESCUE MISSION TO FIND DAVE'S WEIRD ECTO-ANCESTOR. AM I CORRECT?"

"Yes, That Sounds Like A Thing We're About To Do."

"GREAT. FUCKING PEACHY," he huffed. "WAIT. OK. SO ALL THE HUMANS ARE ACCOUNTED FOR BUT... WHAT HAPPENED TO TEREZI? DID... DID I SAVE HER?"

"No," Rose said flatly. "I saw her briefly when I woke up. She said she wanted to be alone for a while and wandered off somewhere."

Karkat opened his mouth to respond but promptly closed it again when he realized he had nothing to say.

"Well," said Kanaya. "Shall We Go Find Dave's Teen Lusus?"

"Yes," said Jade. "Just, uh, give us a sec?"

Rose raised an eyebrow suspiciously at Jade but took Kanaya's hand and lead the group out of Dave's room anyway.

Jade sat back down on the bed next to Dave. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah I- well, ok no. This isn't really something I want to deal with but I also feel this weird need to see the guy, you know? Bro and I had kind of a fucked-up relationship but this dude isn't really him and I guess I just want to know."

"Know what?"

"If he could have been... different."

Jade nodded. She hesitated for a moment but then took one of Dave's hands in her own. "We're gonna find him."

Dave gave her a half-hearted smile and stood up. "Alright well we should probably go join the others then. I have a feeling that mix is going to fall into chaos real quick if we aren't there to supervise."

Jade giggled. Dave had a point considering she could already hear Karkat shouting again.

"Ok, let's go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> follow me on twitter! @spacefankali


	3. cryptic flirting and subtle death threats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Oh fuck Jope is upset."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a transitional chapter but don't worry we'll return to your regularly scheduled feelings soon.

Dirk Strider always knew he would end up in hell. Not that he had ever really believed in such a thing, but still. If there was even the tiniest chance such a place existed, that's where he was bound to end up. This wasn't exactly how he had pictured it but it was close enough. Dirk had also always known that if there really was a hell it wasn't going to be pitchforks and fire. It was going to be the truth thrown back in his face over and over again. That his friends had always secretly hated him. That his brother wanted nothing to do with him. That Jake never wanted to be with him. And here it all was, playing out right before his eyes on a flat-screen the size of the universe.

The glitches stretched him out. Dirk could see everything. Not all at once but bits and pieces flashed rapidly in his mind. There was Dave, young and innocent. And there was Dirk, a shitty older brother who left the refrigerator empty and forced Dave to spar with him six times a day. He saw another timeline where he finally got to meet his idol, sitting apart awkwardly before a battle. It was obvious Dave wanted nothing to do with him. He saw Jake talking to Jane on her birthday, begging for advice on how he could end things with Dirk. He knew Jake had been hiding from him. He knew it. Trickstermode played out for him again, this time with the added bonus of Jake and Jane professing their love to each other. It would have been a damn shame if Dirk hadn't gotten to see that little detail.

This was hell because deep in his soul Dirk knew this was eternal. He would be stuck in this flashing madhouse for the rest of his immortal life. The best part was Dirk knew he did it to himself. To punish himself for failing his friends. For letting them die. The best part was he knew he deserved it. He would make the same choice over again. So he gave in. Let reality warp him until he wasn't real anymore. Until the concept of Dirk in this timeline was just a memory.

***

"Over here!" Rose pointed at the dreambubble drifting pass them. "I think this is the one!"

She lead the group through the membrane separating the bubbles, coming out into one of Karkat's memories. They were outside of his hive, a warm Alternian breeze cutting through the cool night air.

"OH GREAT. ANOTHER GLANCE INTO THE ENDLESS SWIRLING PISS-PUDDLE THAT IS MY LIFE. CAN'T FUCKING WAIT TO SEE WHAT GLITTERING PILE OF SHIT RESIDES IN THIS ONE."

"Dude why the fuck have so many of these been your memories? I'm starting to feel gross like they're leaving Karkat-residue on all of us every time we pass through."

"Dave, Do You Ever Hear Yourself When You Speak?"

"Honestly I try not to."

Rose cleared her throat. "You're making it a bit difficult to concentrate on my Seer duties. To answer your question, Karkat, I believe it's because we're getting closer."

"Pardon, Miss Lalonde," said Jake. "But I thought we were venturing out to find Dirk, not this troll girl."

"This is part of it," Rose replied. "Terezi has different Seer abilities than I do. I believe a Seer of Mind is more... personalized? To be honest, I'm going off of a gut feeling. I'm trusting that this feeling comes from MY Seer abilities."

"I see. Why do you reckon you'll be able to find this troll dame if you couldn't find Dirk?"

"I spent three years with Terezi on a meteor. I have only met Dirk once and apparently, it wasn't even him."

"CAN WE BACK THE FUCK UP FOR A SECOND? WHY DO MY MEMORIES MAKE YOU THINK WE'RE GETTING CLOSER?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "Karkat, are you really going to make me answer that?"

"Yeah dude do you not remember trying to make a fucking shipping chart that was like the worst thing you ever did," Dave added.

"ALL I REMEMBER IS YOU FORCING ME TO DRAW CRUDE DEPICTIONS OF HUMAN MALE GENITALIA."

"Jeez Louise," Jane whispered to Jake. "And here I thought our group was dysfunctional."

"Would you two to stop it?" Jade huffed as she lightly smacked Karkat's shoulder. "Rose said she's trying to concentrate! God, I can't imagine what she went through stuck with you two for three years."

"I don't know how I survived," Rose said with a wink to Kanaya.

"WAIT." Karkat stopped dead in his tracks, eyes wide. "DO YOU FEEL THAT?"

"Feel what?" asked Jade.

Karkat didn't respond. Instead, he turned on his heel and began marching off to the left. "SHE'S THIS WAY."

"What? How do you know?"

"Follow him, Jade," said Rose. "I think our Knight of Blood might finally be tapping into his aspect."

"Ok," said Dave. "But like that's not how Knights work. It's an exploitative aspect, not-"

"Dave, remember earlier?" asked Jade. "When I asked you if you ever stopped talking?"

Rose stifled a laugh. Dave narrowed his eyes. "I don't like either of you."

Jade smiled. "Liar."

"HEY, FUCKWADS! GET YOUR ASSES OVER HERE."

They looked over towards Karkat's voice. He hadn't traveled very far in the time they were arguing but he was still wildly waving his arms as if he was worried they couldn't see him. The group made their way over to find they were at the top of a steep hill. From the bottom, two girls looked up at them.

"K4RK4T??"

"Karkat!!!!!!!!"

Karkat, in response, attempted to sprint down the hill but tripped fell, crashing directly into Vriska.

"He- OW!!!!!!!! What the fuck, Karkat?"

"HOLY SHIT. IT'S YOU, ISN'T IT? LIKE, THE YOU THAT WAS IN MY TIMELINE NOT SOME SHITTY KNOCKOFF ALTERNATE TIMELINE YOU."

Terezi giggled. "Y3S, K4RK4T, 1TS H3R. 4LTHOUGH 1M NOT R34LLY SUR3 HOW YOU COULD KNOW TH4T."

"Psh, how could he not recognize me?"

"YOU SH4V3D H4LF YOUR H34D 4ND GOT 4 T4TTOO. 4LSO 4LL OF OUR 4LT3RN4T3 S3LV3S 4R3 1D3NT1CL3."

"Fair."

"Hello Again, Terezi," said Kanaya. "Vriska, It Is Good To See You."

Vriska gave Kanaya a soft smile. "Good to see you again too, fussyfangs."

"Terezi," said Rose as she made her way down the hill. "As heartfelt as this little reunion is I'm afraid we aren't quite out of the woods yet."

"H3Y TH3R3, B3ST H4T3FR13ND. 1 F1GUR3D 4S MUCH. NOT L1K3 W3 3V3R G3T A BR34K."

"We need your help tracking down Dave's ancestor."

Terezi raised her eyebrows. "OOOOOOOO W3'R3 BR1NG1NG 1N 4NOTH3R COOL K1D?? H3H3."

"Terezi don't you dare do anything weird to my bro. That goes for both your cryptic flirting and subtle death threats."

"YOU US3D TO B3 FUN, D4V3."

"Remember when you got both me and John killed?"

"Y34H TH4TS WH4T 1 M34N."

"Ahem," said Kanaya. "Terezi, Do You Think You Can Find Him?"

"Y34H, PROB4BLY. B3FOR3 1 D13D JOHN 4ND 1 M4D3 4 BR34KTHROUGH W1TH BOTH OF OUR POW3RS 1 TH1NK. 4LTHOUGH, HOW D1D YOU KNOW TO COM3 TO M3?? 4ND HOW TH3 FUCK D1D YOU F1ND US??"

Dave knelt down next to Terezi and placed a hand on her shoulder. "C' mon man you know this already."

"...SH3N4N1G4NS??"

"Shenanigans."

Terezi sighed but didn't question the matter further. "OK, 3V3RYBODY B4CK TH3 FUCK UP. 3XC3PT YOU, D4V3."

"Oh shit."

"C4N YOU TRY 4ND L1K3, CH4NN3L THOUGHTS 4BOUT H1M??"

Dave scrunched his eyebrows together. "I don't really..." He turned and looked over at the rest of his friends. Rose nodded and Jade gave him an encouraging thumbs-up. "Yeah. I guess."

"OK. GOOD. DO TH4T."

For a moment, everyone was silent. Terezi sat on the ground with her eyes closed, Dave across from her. His forehead was creased in either concentration or discomfort. Likely both. Beads of sweat formed on Terezi's forehead.

"SOM3TH1NGS WRONG."

"What?" asked Dave. "What the fuck does that mean?"

"DO WE, UH, H4V3 CONFORM4T1ON TH4T TH1S P3RSON 3V3R 4CTU4LLY EX1ST3D 1N TH1S T1M3L1N3??"

"Excuse me, what?" Jane pushed her way to the front of the group. "Of course he existed, er, exists!"

Terezi just nodded. "OK. TH4T'S WH4T 1 THOUGHT. SOM3TH1NGS R34LLY WRONG. 1 C4N F33L T1M3L1N3S WH3R3 D4V3S BRO 3XISTS BUT 1N TH1S ON3... TH3R3'S JUST A HOL3. LIK3, 4 HOL3 1N R34LITY. 1... 1 TH1NK H3'S GON3."

"No." Everyone turned to look at the source of the voice. "No. That's the kind of talk we're going to bump off this instant. Dirk is not 'gone'. That's a bunch of hooey and I refuse to believe it."

"Jake-," Jane started.

"No!" Jake shouted before turning to Terezi. "You listen to me, miss Terezi. My best friend is not gone, doggone it! He is not gone. So we're all going take a gosh darn moment to come up with a fucking PLAN!"

"Oh fuck Jope is upset."

"VR1SK4 STOP," Terezi hissed. "4LR1GHT, J4P3. WH4T DO YOU SUPPOSE W3 DO?"

"MY NAME IS JAKE YOU ARSEBADGER!"

"Ooook," said Jade as Jane walked over to comfort Jake. "We're all tired. We all just literally died. I think everyone's a little on edge right now so why don't we just-."

"WE COULD JUST GO TO THE HOLE." Karkat was standing over to the side, arms crossed.

"1TS NOT 4 L1T3R4L HOL3, K4RK4T."

"OK BUT WHY NOT? COULDN'T YOU FOCUS YOUR SEER BULLSHIT AND FIGURE OUT WHERE THE FUCK REALITY IS ALL DEFORMED?"

"1 DON'T TH1NK SO."

"I can."

"OH ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?"

"You're getting awfully worked up over someone affirming your plan could work."

"SHOVE IT, ROSE. WE WENT ON A WILD GOOSE CHASE TO FIND THESE FUCKSTICKS AND NOW YOU'RE TELLING ME WE DIDN'T EVEN NEED THEM?"

"GOOD TO S33 YOU TOO, K4RK4T."

"I wasn't aware that the blank spots in my vision could be attributed to the glitches." Rose shivered internally. 'Blank spots in my vision' wasn't a phrase she was particularly fond of. "But there is one larger than the rest. If we can guide a dreambubble to it, we might be able to find him."

"Don't these dreambubbles kind of have a mind of their own?" asked Dave. "How the fuck are we supposed to pilot one?"

"Dave," said Rose. "What was it you were going to say to me about Knights earlier?"

"That you were WRONG about how Knight powers work. It's nothing like your Seer powers and you should fucking know that by now. It's exploitative. Like how when Noir attacked me and Jade, I used my time shit to make a fuckton of copies of myself. Shit like that. I don't know where you're going with this."

"What do you think would happen if someone could, say, exploit a strong bond between two people?"

"NO. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FUCK YOU'RE INSINUATING BUT NO. I CAN'T DO THAT. I NEVER FIGURED OUT HOW AND I DOUBT BEING DEAD IN SOMEONE ELSE'S SESSION HELPS ME THE FUCK OUT."

"Did you ever really try?" asked Rose.

"Ok well," Dave interjected. "If you're planning on using me to make that bond or whatever it ain't gonna work. I know he's like my ecto-dad but I've never even met the dude. It's not gonna work."

"You're right. Good thing we have a boy who's bond with our shared father is strong enough to make an imaginary figment of him manifest on the physical plane," said Rose with a smirk.

Jake swallowed hard. "Well I... suppose that I can be a sport and do... whatever it is you need me to do."

"Well, if it means anything, I can't think of a 8etter plan. And that's saying something," said Vriska. "Not that that means I 8elieve it'll work 8ut hey, can't hurt to try."

Kanaya squinted. "Vriska I Can't Put My Finger On It But You Seem... Different."

Vriska shrugged. "It's pro8a8ly the tattoo."

"So," said Jade. "Are we ready to try this? I feel like the longer we wait the less chance we have of finding him."

"YEAH, ALRIGHT, WHATEVER. LET'S GET THIS OVER WITH."


	4. LET'S WITH YOUR EMOTIONAL REVELATIONS LATER

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Knight and Page work together to save the Prince.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took longer to get out! I was busy moving into a new apartment and hadn't had much time to write!

Jake cleared his throat. "So, how exactly do we go about doing this?"

"FUCK IF I KNOW."

Dave snorted. "See this is why we should never put Karkat in charge of anything ever."

"FUCK OFF, STRIDER. I'LL FIGURE IT OUT."

Rose bumped Dave with her shoulder. "Nice," she whispered. "Reverse psychology. The more you antagonize him the harder he'll try." Dave lowered his sunglasses so she could see him give her a theatrical wink.

"Don't push it," said Rose.

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO MUMBLING ABOUT OVER THERE?"

Dave opened his mouth to give Karkat some sort of snarky reply but Rose punched him in the shoulder.

"Ow! Wh-" Rose shoved Dave behind her before he could finish.

"My dear brother was just informing me that he has the utmost confidence in your abilities," she said.

Karkat made a small noise of indignation before turning his attention back to Jake.

"I GUESS MAYBE JUST... TALK ABOUT HIM TO ME?"

Jake swallowed. "Do you think... I know I can be a bit of a rambler when I run the old sauce-box and I'll probably end up boring everyone so maybe we could do this without an audience?"

Karkat cast a glare towards Rose and Dave. Jade rolled her eyes and grabbed both of their hands, leading them back up the hill with Vriska and Terezi in tow.

"ALRIGHT. CAN WE GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD?"

Jake placed his hands in his lap, nervously rubbing small circles on his palm with his thumb. "Well, uh, Dirk... hmmm... Dirk is... a real-stand up guy. One of my best friends. He..."

Karkat groaned over Jake's words. "OK I'M GONNA STOP YOU RIGHT THERE. LISTENING TO YOU UNCOMFORTABLY STUMBLE THROUGH YOUR OBVIOUS RED FEELINGS FOR THIS DUDE MAKES ME WANT TO RIP OUT MY BONE BULGE AND LET MYSELF SLOWLY BLEED TO DEATH JUST SO I DON'T HAVE TO HEAR YOU SAY ANY MORE FUCKING WORDS EVER AGAIN."

"But I-"

"NO. SHUT UP. LISTEN, I CAN SMELL YOUR GROSS HUMAN PHEREMONES PRACTICALLY DRIPPING OUT OF YOUR PORES FOR THIS DUDE."

"Oh God."

"JAKE, I DON'T KNOW SHIT ABOUT BLOOD POWERS BUT I AM THE FUCKING ARISTOTLE OF QUADRANTS. I KNOW A FLUSH CRUSH WHEN I SEE ONE."

"I don't think you have a firm grasp on who Aristotle was."

"HOLY SHIT, I SAID SHUT THE FUCK UP! QUADRANT BULLSHIT ASIDE, YOU CARE ABOUT HIM A LOT, RIGHT?"

"Well, yes, of course I do."

"THEN DEAL LET'S WITH YOUR EMOTIONAL REVELATIONS LATER. JUST BE HONEST WITH ME OR HE'S GONNA DIE."

Jake's eyes widened for a moment before he squeezed them shut.

"Alright."

***

Every particle in Dirk's body was getting more stretched out with each passing second. Or at least that's what it felt like. There wasn't a way to tell if seconds were still a real thing or if time had officially lost all meaning. He wasn't lucid anymore. Dirk just let his mind drift from glitchy memory to glitchy memory. Words spliced together from sentences said years apart formed conversations that never happened. Had he ever told Roxy how much he admired her? Had he ever said sorry to Jake? Had he ever told Jane how much she meant to him? Probably not. It was so hard to tell. All of his experiences swirled together into one muddy slew of consciousness.

But... Something itched at the back of his mind. Grounding him, tethering him back into his head.

A memory. One in focus, not just glitched out around him. It was foggy at first but Dirk latched onto it with every ounce of strength he had left. Slowly, the universe cleared around him. He had form again. Dirk could breathe. He saw himself on his planet. Skeleton monsters climbed up out of a tomb and surrounded him but Dirk didn't look the tiniest bit fearful. Three of them lunged at Dirk and he cleaved all of them in half with his katana in one clean swing. A fourth one attacked from behind, taking him by surprise. For a moment it seemed Dirk might be in peril but a bullet whizzed past and struck the monster in the head. Jake let out a whoop and ran over to high-five Dirk. He remembered wanting to say something to Jake. Looking back, he wished he would have. There were so many things he could have said before everything went to shit, before all the discomfort settled on their relationship like dust, concealing both of their feelings with thick grime. The moment was fleeting and then more skeletons were upon them. Jake took to them with his guns, laughing and hollering and having the time of his life. Dirk remembered sneaking a smile at him under his mask.

Another sound cut through Jake's laughter. A voice.

"I THINK THIS ACTUALLY MIGHT BE WORKING. I CAN FEEL... SOMETHING."

The world malfunctioned again and the memory dissolved around Dirk, leaving him stranded once more.

"WAIT, SHIT. I LOST IT."

"Oh, for corn's sake!" Jake slumped over and rubbed his temples.

"IT'S FINE," said Karkat "JUST... KEEP GOING."

"Ok well... I think after that... He smiled?"

"I THOUGHT YOU SAID HE WAS WEARING A MASK?"

Jake furrowed his brows in confusion. "He was but... I just have this very odd feeling that there was a bit of a simper on his face."

"WHAT THE FUCK IS A SIMPER?"

"Actually, the more I think about it the more sure I am. Karkat, I believe we're really onto something here!"

"OK CAN YOU JUST KEEP GOING WITH THE FUCKING STORY?"

"Right, sorry. So, after that..."

It was the first time since reality shattered that Dirk realized he needed to get out of this purgatory. He had to find a way. Maybe there was a chance he could bring them all back. He at least had to try.

"Dirk!"

"Jake?" Dirk asked. Or, tried to ask. Despite his best efforts, it seemed Dirk no longer had a voice. As the glitches slowly degraded what integrity was left of space they took him with it. He felt his soul start to split at the seams, a burning pain like no other.

"DIRK!"

Another memory? Jake came into focus in front of what once was Dirk, decked out in his godtier outfit. He was gesturing in his typical, extravagant way but Dirk couldn't make out what he was saying. Jake reached towards him and Dirk's instinct was to reach back. The abrupt attempt caused the particles of his hand to snap back together. Jake's face lit up and he tried to inch closer. Their fingers brushed against each other and the contact sent knifelike waves of pain through his body. He yanked his hand back and Jake's face fell again. Before he could try anything else, Jake vanished.

"I saw him! Bloody fucking hell, I saw him!"

"YOU DID?" said Karkat with genuine surprise. He glanced down at his hands, awestruck. "I... YOU REALLY SAW HIM?"

"I'm sure of it."

Karkat squeezed his hands into fists and stifled a smile.

"ALRIGHT WELL, LET'S KEEP TRYING. I DON'T THINK YOU NEED TO KEEP TALKING, THOUGH. I HAVE A GRASP ON HIM NOW."

"You do?"

"YEAH, JUST... HERE." Karkat took both of Jake's hands in his own and closed his eyes, focusing. "HELP ME FIND HIM AGAIN."

"Ok." Jake closed his finger's around Karkats and shut his eyes, too. He tried to picture the way Dirk looked. Glitched out and broken but still there, reaching for him. Something in his mind clicked. Karkat took in a sharp breath.

The Knight of Blood provided a path. The Page of Hope followed.

Dirk blinked back into view. Jake could see recognition flash in his eyes as Dirk noticed him again.

"Dirk! Are you ok?"

No response. Dirk had lost the ability to hear him. Jake started to reach out again but stopped when he remembered what happened last time. He wracked his mind for something, anything he could do to pull him out of there _._ Dirk was atrophying in front of him, body snagging on the sharp fragments of reality. Jake's heart sank as he realized there was no saving him. Not physically at least. But... The maroon of Dirk's shirt caught his eye. Jake had an idea, one that could only work with a Prince of Heart. If he could just figure out how to communicate...

He tried speaking again but his voice cut in and out as Dirk faded faster and faster. Jake knew was running out of time before Dirk was completely overtaken by the glitches. There had to be another way. He sifted through his memory, replaying conversations between him and Dirk. There. That one. Jake focused on it, singling in on one word. The memory flickered in front of them, just long enough for Dirk to make out the word.

TEAR

Again Jake searched, trying to pluck the right words out of old memories and glue them together.

OUT

Dirk was listening, Jake could feel it. It was working.

YOUR

SOUL

I'LL

CATCH

YOU.


End file.
